After releasing a vague warning about a “serious national security threat” Wednesday, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, doubled down on his warning.
“The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence worked in consultation with the Biden Administration to notify Congress of this national security threat,” he said in a Thursday statement. “In addition, language in the bipartisan notification issued by the Chair and Ranking Member to all Members of the House was cleared by the Administration prior to its release. The House Intelligence Committee voted 23 to 1 to make this information available to Members of Congress. White House officials confirmed that, in their view, the matter was ‘serious’.”
After he released the earlier statement about the threat, which requested that President Joe Biden “declassify all information relating to this threat.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press briefing Wednesday that he scheduled a meeting with lawmakers and that he was surprised by Turner’s comments.
“I’m not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time, other than to make the broad point that this administration has gone further and, in more creative, more strategic ways, dealt with the declass – declassification of intelligence in the national interest of the United States than any administration in history,” said Sullivan.
He didn’t comment further on any details related to the threat during the press briefing. Audacy Thursday covered reports that link the comments to alleged plans Russia has to launch a nuclear weapon into space.
According to a CBS News report, an official told the outlet that the intelligence is related to Russian capabilities in space.
“U.S. officials told CBS News that Russia is developing a nuclear-capable weapon that could take down U.S. satellites, knocking out the ability to communicate, but there is no evidence a weapon has actually been deployed,” said the report. It went on to explain that the threat doesn’t involve active capability but that it is considered significant.
CBS also said that a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the information pointed to a series of Russian space launches known as Cosmos. Many of these carried classified Ministry of Defense payloads, said the source.
Other lawmakers said that the issue is not an immediate crisis. For example, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said “people should not panic.”
Moscow has dismissed the reports, per CBS.